CAMDEN — They came, they played, they swamped, slid and swore through the slush. They had a blast and so did the rest of the community at the 28th annual Toboggan Championships Feb. 9-11 at the Camden Snow Bowl. The weather was warmish.... and it was wet.

In the end, some times were fast, much faster than others. Some barely finished. But the chute was well prepped, and Hosmer Pond itself was a champ, holding up under the weight of people, their tents, shacks, coolers, trucks, fire pits and wood stoves, snowmobiles and dogs. Nothing gave way, and in some spots, drills were used to get the standing water on the ice to drain down. (That didn’t work so well.) 

Over on the ski slopes, visitors from out of state bought tickets and skied the conditions, which were as varied as those in Tobogganville (tremendously foggy at the top, couldn’t see a foot in front of yourself, to clear and mushy at the bottom).

One young man came up from Delaware for the toboggan championships and when his team failed to qualify for the finals, he spent Sunday up at the top of the mountain, having a blast by himself, on his snow board.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, as the rain drizzled over his wool hat and into his eyes.

And yet, everyone had a good time, being outside, being active, being in Maine. And everyone behaved, as usual. More or less...

Congratulations to all for a great weekend, as another round of Toboggan National Championships make history. Again!

Below are the top three in each of the divisions, with the full results in the accompany charts.  

WINNERS of the 2-PERSON SLED
First: Two Slab City Sliders,  Total time, 19.65 
Second: Spudrunner 2,  19.67 
Third: Yahtzee,  19.69